This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled a bobblehead of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. The bobblehead is the first of the Garden State’s 56th governor, who assumed office on December 4, 2019. With his state having the second-most coronavirus cases in the country behind New York, Murphy has been extra cautious in protecting the health, safety and welfare of all people in New Jersey. “We’re the densest state in America, our region is the densest region in America, (so) we’ve got to be exceedingly careful,” he said last weekend.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum will be donating $5 from every Governor Murphy Bobblehead sold to the Protect The Heroes fund in support of the 100 Million Mask Challenge, which is the same cause that the Hall of Fame and Museum has raised over $200,000 for through the sale of bobbleheads of Dr. Fauci, Dr. Birx and seven other Governors.
The bobbleheads are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s Online Store. They are $25 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order and will ship in August. On a base bearing his name, the bobblehead features Murphy seated at a table adorned with a “STAY AT HOME” message as he makes an announcement during a press briefing. The bobblehead of Governor Murphy joins bobbleheads of California Governor Gavin Newsom, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.
Born in Needham, Massachusetts, the 62-year-old Murphy announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination in the 2017 New Jersey gubernatorial election in May of 2016. “I am running for governor because New Jersey desperately needs adult leadership that puts our people first,” he said about becoming the race’s first announced candidate. After winning the primary decisively, Murphy defeated then-Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno in the general election with 53 percent of the vote.
Murphy held several high-level positions and accumulated considerable wealth during a memorable 23-year career at Goldman Sachs before retiring in 2006. Murphy served as finance chairman for the Democratic National Committee from 2006 to 2009 under Howard Dean and as the United States Ambassador to Germany from 2009 to 2013. He also launched New Way for New Jersey, a progressive organization intended to increase his political visibility in the state while planning to run for governor. In December of 2019, Murphy became the chairperson of the Democratic Governors Association.
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Murphy announced on Monday that schools across the state will remain closed for the rest of the academic year “to protect the health of our children, our educators, and their families.” His message on Twitter concluded, “Guided by safety and science, this is the best course of action.” Murphy issued a stay-at-home order for nearly all of the state’s 9 million residents on March 21 in order to help flatten the curve.
“During these unprecedented times, we want to continue to raise funds for an amazing cause while putting a smile on people’s faces with bobbleheads,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said. “We received a lot of requests to make a bobblehead of Governor Murphy and other governors who have been instrumental in the continued fight against COVID-19, so we’re excited to be releasing his bobblehead today.”